Obese children should be offered weight-loss jabs to save them from a lifetime of problems, one of the world’s most senior doctors has said.
The president of the World Obesity Federation said there was a “growing evidence base” for the use of the injections among adolescents, which might even be justified among under-12s, in severe cases.
Professor Louise Baur, an obesity paediatrician and professor of paediatrics at the University of Sydney, in Australia, made the comments amid a growing debate about the use of jabs such as Wegovy for weight loss, which is also licensed as Ozempic for treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
Last month, a study found that weight-loss jabs cut the risk of heart death by a fifth. The findings, from the largest ever trial of the injections, have been hailed as the biggest breakthrough in cardiac medicine since statins in the 1990s.
However, NHS chiefs have warned that the jabs should not be used as a “quick fix for people trying to get ‘beach body ready’” after reports that young, slim girls had lied about their weight to obtain the injections, putting themselves at deadly risk.
Doctors said they were seeing increasing numbers of patients ending up in A&E suffering ill-effects, including pancreatitis, after lying to online pharmacies in order to pass eligibility checks.
Semaglutide works same way in adolescents as in adults
In an address to the International Congress on Obesity, Prof Baur said that trials show the medicine semaglutide – marketed as Wegovy for weight loss – worked the same way in adolescents as in adults, with a similar safety profile.
In England, 22.7 per cent of children are obese by the time they start secondary school, not far off the obesity levels of 26.2 per cent in the adult population.
The professor will tell the conference in Sao Paolo that it was time to treat obesity in children and adolescents as a “chronic disease” that could be helped with treatment.
Prof Baur will say injections could be a “less invasive option” than bariatric surgery.
The paediatrician will add: “There is a growing evidence base for some obesity management medications in adolescents – however, no evidence exists yet for use in younger children aged under 12 years, but use may be justified in those younger children with more severe obesity.”
“In all cases, these obesity medications must be used in combination with support for behavioural change, as part of multi-disciplinary, adolescent-friendly care. It is clear from our experience with adults that long-term use will most probably be needed, but further evidence is needed on this.”
The medications act on brain appetite centres, promoting a sense of satiety, reducing hunger and encouraging a decrease in food consumption.
Obesity rates halved
Last year a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine of those aged 12 to 18 found that giving the jabs for 16 months, along with lifestyle counselling, halved obesity rates.
Researchers said the jabs should be offered on the NHS for all obese teenagers, saying it was “the earlier the better” when starting such treatment.
The scientists from the University of Minnesota Medical School said some of those put on the weekly jabs might need to stay on them for life to avoid putting the weight back on.
A trial is examining the use of another jab, tirzepatide, which is marketed as Mounjaro, in adolescents.
Both Wegovy and Mounjaro injections are licensed for obese adults and for those with a BMI of at least 27 and weight-related health conditions.
However, the NHS has so far restricted their use, with Wegovy normally only offered to obese patients attending specialist weight clinics.
Draft guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends Mounjaro for those with a BMI of at least 35, and weight-related health problems.